Disney on Classic 2009 - Week 1

The rehearsal week is always the toughest.  First of all, we’re all a bit jetlagged and discombobulated from being 16 hours out of kilter.  Tokyo and the Japanese culture are a bit mindboggling for those for whom this is their first trip here.  We’re all getting to know each other.  No one knows where anything is so every decision, from where to eat, do laundry or remembering where my wife packed my deodorant requires some research before it can be accomplished.  So we’re coping with all that and trying to be productive over the course of relatively long days.

The rehearsals the first day are a bit tedious because we’re working on pieces of the puzzle which won’t mean much until they’re all assembled with the orchestra.
Actually, preparation for the tour begins before we ever leave home.  After the writing is done the are 3-4 weeks of learning the music and figuring out exactly how I’m going to conduct it.  Not to be simplistic, but most popular music starts with a certain time signature and tempo and pretty much does that from beginning to the end.  Film music is not so constituted.  Drastic meter and tempo changes can occur in rapid succession as the music is chasing the action on screen.  For instance, there is an 11-measure passage in “The Lion King” where the meter changes 8 times!  The wise conductor tries to internalize these shifts before mounting the podium lest he become a living example of “the blind leading the blind.”  In the same way, the singers rehearse in NYC for a few days before coming to Tokyo on music and even create some fun choreography.